What the #!%*?: The Bruce Carson affair

In this occasional feature, the National Post tells you everything you need to know about a complicated issue. Today: Kathryn Blaze Carlson outlines the brewing controversy over Bruce Carson, one of Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s former key advisors.

Who is Bruce Carson?

A long-time Ottawa figure who served as a key advisor to Prime Minister Stephen Harper until 2008. Mr. Carson joined the Prime Minister’s Office after the Conservatives took power in 2006, and briefly served as chief of staff to then-environment minister Rona Ambrose. Portrayed as the Prime Minister’s “Mr. Fix-it,” Mr. Carson is said to have authored many of the new government’s policy positions. After a brief return to the Prime Minister’s Office in February 2009, Mr. Carson was the executive director of the Canada School of Energy and Environment at the University of Calgary. The 66-year-old had also worked for former Conservative prime ministers Joe Clark and Brian Mulroney.

Why is everyone talking about him now?

Mr. Carson is under an RCMP investigation for influence peddling related to a multimillion-dollar deal. A recent probe by the Aboriginal Peoples Television Network alleges that Mr. Carson was lobbying Indian and Northern Affairs Canada on behalf of a water-filtration company, which employs his girlfriend, a 22-year-old former escort named Michelle McPherson. Her name appears on a contract, witnessed by Mr. Carson, that guaranteed her 20% of all gross revenues from sales related to water contracts on First Nations reserves, according to the APTN probe. Last month, Mr. Harper asked the RCMP to investigate whether Mr. Carson — once one of his closest confidants — exploited his inside connections to influence a government decision. It later surfaced that Mr. Carson was disbarred and served time in jail in the 1980s after pleading guilty to two counts of defrauding law clients. This week, The Canadian Press revealed Mr. Carson, a former lawyer, was convicted of three counts of fraud in the 1990s — one stemming from the rental of a Toyota vehicle and two from defrauding banks.

Did the Prime Minister know about Mr. Carson’s criminal past?

Mr. Harper maintains he was unaware that Mr. Carson had been convicted of fraud and received court-ordered psychiatric treatment in the 1990s. “We knew about problems in Mr. Carson’s very distant past,” Mr. Harper said at an event in Victoriaville, Que. “We did not know about the more recent things. Had I known that, I would not have hired him.” On Monday, shortly after they were reported in the press, Mr. Harper said he had only just learned of the 1990s fraud convictions, and that the Privy Council Office would have to review background check procedures.

What does Mr. Carson say?

Mr. Carson has told The Canadian Press that he mentioned his criminal history to Mr. Harper’s former chief of staff, Ian Brodie, back in 2006, when he was completing an application for Secret-level security clearance. His lawyer has repeated the assertion. Mr. Brodie, however, has told APTN that Mr. Carson never disclosed the later convictions.

What is the security clearance process?

When Mr. Harper took office in 2006, he and his chief of staff would have crafted a list of people they wanted to bring into the Prime Minister’s Office. A former senior government official said the list would then be given to the head of security for the Privy Council Office — a junior official who should not be confused with the national security advisor to the office. The people on the list would also provide a security clearance form, which asks about criminal convictions. Then CSIS, the RCMP, and the Canada Revenue Agency would conduct a background check. “They might look at the criminal record and say, ‘We can let that slide to a certain clearance level’ — to Secret, for example,” the former senior government official said, speaking on the condition of anonymity. “In that circumstance, I still think the chief of staff would be told of the record and would have to make a judgment.” He said it would be “very unlikely that it went to the Prime Minister.” According to Treasury Board security guidelines, a criminal record is not in itself grounds for denying security clearance, of which there are three levels — Confidential, Secret and Top Secret.

Why is RCMP Commissioner William Elliott being talked about in all this?

The CBC has reported that Mr. Elliott, who was national security advisor to the Privy Council Office in 2006, was involved in approving Mr. Carson’s security clearance. Canada’s top mountie remained tight-lipped over the conflicting media reports on Wednesday.